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The election of a new Pope apparently will set up an interesting meeting between the new Pope Francis, formerly Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, and Vice President Joe Biden, who finds no conflict between his professed Catholic faith and his advocacy of abortion, something Pope Francis has called the “Death Penalty for the Unborn”.

As a leader of Argentinian Catholics, Bergoglio helped steer the church away from essentially Marxism in the form of liberation theology. Liberation theology happens to be a linchpin in the thinking of Catholics who accept abortion as something moral. He has been seen as a ‘compassionate conservative’ and has shown an aptitude in bridging large philosophical divides. In Argentina he worked with Catholics and other Christians of Eastern traditions and even his name Francis, chosen in honor of the 11th century Catholic Saint, is an interesting choice for a Jesuit intellectual.

Abby Johnson is taking heat from the abortion industry for her work in helping abortion clinic workers do what she did and quit their jobs. She calls her work, “And Then There Were None”.

In other news, a party line vote in the U.S. Senate quickly sank the hopes of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and rejected his attempt to defund ObamaCare for this fiscal year. And a healthy baby boy has been born after another fascinating heart surgery on the child at 23-weeks gestation.

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Legislators in Maryland are asking why the abortion clinic is still open that killed a woman last month in a dangerous late-term botched abortion. Not only are they questioning why LeRoy Carhart’s Germantown abortion business was not shut down immediately, they are questioning why a previous complaint from last November did not prompt an investigation and inspection of the clinic before the death of Jennifer Morbelli. They ask what triggers a license suspension to protect the public if not a patient’s death.

The new Continuing Resolution designed to relieve automatic federal budget cuts required by law does not include the conscience protections against the Obama administrations HHS mandate for which pro-life advocates were hoping. Pro-life focus now turns to the Healthcare Conscience Rights Act for relief from the HHS-ObamaCare rules.

Court rulings allow for states to restrict abortion and while new legislation would add Texas to the list of states that restrict abortion by the pain inflicted during an abortion, Arkansas legislators, overriding a governor’s veto passed a law Wednesday restricting abortions to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If a heartbeat is detected, abortion is banned in Arkansas.

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A pro-life Congressman is calling his colleagues to insert into the country’s fiscal deadline an affirmation of conscience rights in accordance with the First Amendment of the Constitution. Representative Steve King of Iowa says conscience as a constitutional principle is not something to negotiate.

Meanwhile, in Washington State, pro-life advocates are calling a bill that would mandate abortion coverage in all maternity coverage plans the Conscience Coercion Act. Peggy O’Ban of Human Life of Washington says that since Quakers objected to military service, our nation has affirmed a right to freedom of conscience and that Washington state would be the only state to force employers to pay for abortion.

The pro-life movement has long endeavored to understand the complex emotional struggle behind a woman’s decision to continue or abort an unplanned pregnancy. The Vitae Foundation released in last week’s American Thinker an in-depth study of interest to anyone working with women in a pregnancy at risk of being interrupted by abortion. Utilizing cutting edge research, they found and quantified numerous difficulties faced and opened strategies to meet the needs of these women. More information is at Vitae Foundation dot org.